Allama Shaheeedi opposes misuse of blasphemy law against innocent people

Eminent Shia religious scholar Allama Amin Shaheedi has said that since the blasphemy laws has been introduced in Pakistan, a lot of people began using them as a tool to take revenge from people. Speaking at Geo News talk show hosted by Shahzeb Khanzada, Allama Shaheedi said that a lot of innocent people have come under the grip of this issue in the past.

He said that some people were persecuted as a result of such accusations by their fellowmen, some people were persecuted by the FIA and some people were sent to jail after such accusations were made against them. When those people came out of jails, they were not able to hold their heads high in the society.He said that Allah had clearly defined the rules for protection of Islam and the Holy Prophet (PBUH). “In Holy Quran and Hadith, there are clear obligations regarding people who resort to committing blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and they will get a dreadful punishment,” he said. “Similarly, if someone accuses another person of blasphemy and is not able to prove it, then the severity of punishment will also be alike. If a person who becomes a cause for an innocent’s death, then it is tantamount to the death of entire humanity.” “Even there is a consensus in the Council of Islamic Ideology that a law must be devised in which the accuser must be subject to similar treatment if he is unable to prove his claims against the accused,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the writ of law and the Constitution by bringing the accuser to the court and to conduct a fair trial against him.” He urged that it was the need of the hour to take this step in order to ensure that no innocent person was falsely accused or punished.Allama Amin Shaheedi said that if a person abused another person and that person abused in return, then both of them had committed the same crime. He further said if the person who was abused had taken the matter to the court and had proved it, then the situation would have been different. He further added: “On the other hand, if the abused person will take the matter to general public, then he can get varied reactions from a set of people. This clearly means that the abused person is taking a wrong step, which means that if by his actions a person loses his life, then the accuser will be held accountable or punished.”